This is the printer I dream of instead of the slow, temperamental, ink-expensive, huge (takes up half a bookshelf) HP I’ve had since forever. It will even scan. The only problem is that it isn’t available yet!
sigh…
Marga’s Hands
25 Sep 2011 2 Comments
in Uncategorized, Writing Life Tags: a new poem, Marga's Hands
Marga’s Hands by Sheryl McFarlane
Marga’s hands are a roadmap of highways
that trace 85 years
leading from Finland
To South Africa to Saskatoon and finally
landing here, on her beloved island.
Her hands have
caressed a cherished husband
swaddled sons and cradled grandchildren.
Before and since her hands have held a thousand books
that have entertained, informed and challenged,
whispering their truths late at night while others sleep
But now Marga’s hands lack the strength to turn the wheels of her chair.
Sometimes they cannot be relied on to
hold a drink to her lips
or
turn the pages of her book.
You might think that Marga’s hands are a roadmap of highways
that lead only to the indignity of
institutional time-tables,
of loneliness and
arthritic pain
But when we sit on the balcony
In the sunshine
and a breeze rustles through the trees
or
I read to her,
a smile plays across her mouth
her hands squeeze mine and
I know that Marga has not yet
finished traveling.
End of the summer
23 Sep 2011 Leave a comment
in Nature, Writing Life Tags: my garden
I deserved an hour in the garden today after spending most of the day working on my novel…
Here are a few pics.
What writers do when they aren’t writing: another installment
14 Sep 2011 2 Comments
in Writing Life Tags: Brentwood Bay, Finlayson Arm, jellyfish, kayaking, Pacifica Paddle Sports
Went for a beautiful paddle up Finlayson Arm out of Brentwood Bay on Saturday to celebrate my friend Trish’s birthday. Brentwood Bay is less than a half hour from Victoria, but it’s such a beautiful spot. We rented kayaks through Pacifica right on the dock for a five hour paddle that included lunch and a guide. It turns out our guide, Ali is on our dragon boat team, so we had an absolutely wonderful day. We paddled through oodles of fist-sized white jellyfish and a few of these bigger pink guys pictured below. Too bad we didn’t have a fishing rod because there were lots of fish jumping. We passed a mystery staircase that leads to nowhere and was apparently built for a movie set well before I was born and no, I’m telling you when that was! We stopped at Spectacle Falls for lunch and a swim. The water was gorgeous and the swim was pretty much essential to work off the delicious lunch provided by Pacifica. I think we’ll try this trip again next spring when the waterfall is more than a trickle. The paddle home was not quite as leisurely but no less beautiful. Thanks Ali for taking all the lovely photos.
Trish, Me, & Ali Finlayson Arm
Flash Fiction
29 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in Writing Life Tags: Bev Rosenbaum, Flash Fiction, McGraw-Hill Ryerson skateboarding, Micro Fiction
I’ve spent the entire day writing, and I’ve only managed to get three lines written. Yep. Three lines. And, it’s all Bev’s fault! Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration, but not totally off the mark. You see, Bev Rosenbaum works as a contract editor for McGraw-Hill Ryerson and she put out a call for some micro or flash fiction for a digital bank resource for high school students. I couldn’t help myself. I love flash fiction. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s super short stories. Basically, the twitter type, which, I know seems impossible. But it’s not. You have to have a beginning, a middle and and end, all in 140 characters. Strive for a twist in the ending as well. It’s hard to do, but so much fun. Here’s one I wrote today on trying to impress a girl with skateboarding tricks.
Unimpressed
I ride by Annie’s.
She’s hanging with a friend.
My 360 rocks and my railslide trick is slick.
I slam a kickflip ollie and have to limp away.
Give it a try. It’s hard, but so much fun.
SCBWI 2011:chocolate and inspiration in 3 action-packed days
08 Aug 2011 2 Comments
in News, Writing Life Tags: 2011 SCBWI LA, Canadian children's writers, Laurie Halse Anderson
Elizabethanne Stilborn, Lizann Flatt, & Debbie Ohi
There were a surprising number of Canadian writers and illustrators who made it down to LA for the SCBWI 2011 Conference. I ran into lots of familiar faces: Linda Bailey, Dean Griffiths, Marsha Skrypuch, Kari-Lynn Winters and lots of others including three new friends to the left.
Since it was the 40th anniversary (hard to believe, I know) the most exquisite chocolate dessert in the shape of a book was served. The conference ended a high note for me with Laurie Halse Anderson, one of my very favourite young adult authors.
Her first novel, Speak is one that continues to stay with me years after reading it. Halse Anderson spoke about the power of art to disturb the universe. It was the perfect inspiration to sum up three wonderful days, and she challenged us all to go out and shake things up with our writing.
Enjoying a Good Rejection Story
31 Jul 2011 3 Comments
in Help for writers, Writing Life Tags: Harry Potter, help for new writers, Stephen King
Everyone in the writing community knows that rejection is part of the business and that if you can’t handle it you might as well start looking for a new career. Maybe that’s why rejection stories are traded so frequently among writers. We’ve all heard about how an impoverished, single mom (JK Rowlings) worked away on her first Harry Potter manuscript which was rejected no less than nine times before going viral. I’ll bet some of the larger publishing houses are still kicking themselves over that one!
But, here’s one I hadn’t heard. According to a guest post by D.L. Orton over at Pimp my Novel,
Stephen King received 30 rejections for his novel Carrie before throwing it in the trash. His wife retrieved it, and convinced him to keep trying. The editor from Doubleday who finally bought the book had to send King a telegram because his phone had been disconnected.
Even though I’m not a huge Stephen King fan (his stuff is just too scary for my taste), you gotta love hearing that a whole lot of publishers missed the boat.
Remember that it only takes one publisher to fall in love with your manuscript and even the best have been rejected so you’re in good company. Keep revising. Keep sending it out. And, if you hit your rejection saturation point, toss it in a drawer instead of the trash (or in this day and age, the recycling box) and get on with your next project! Orton’s website title sums it up: Just Write.
Ellen Hopkins and 8 words
28 Jul 2011 Leave a comment
in For Educators, interviews, Writing Life Tags: Ellen Hopkins, YA lit, young adult lit
One of my favorite authors is Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks, and Fallout. This is how she answered the following question:
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
Ellen. Time voyage–false starts, choppy seas, safe harbors.
See what I mean. She’s awesome. Each word is like a shiny polished pearl that really tells you something important. Her books are exactly like that, spare and yet perfect. Something else I really enjoy about her works is her characters. They don’t read like characters in a novel at all…thy are as real as you and I..except they’re not. How does she do that!
How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A hummingbird morning
23 Jul 2011 Leave a comment
in Writing Life
It was lovely this morning so I sat out for the first time in ages to have my tea. The hummingbirds weren’t in the least shy this morning so I was able to get a few pictures. These are two Anna’s who frequent my feeders. One is a little hard to spot as it’s in the nearby tree. Not the best pictures, but all I had was my phone camera.
What authors do when they aren’t writing
22 Jul 2011 Leave a comment
in News, Writing Life Tags: wedding favors, what authors do when they aren't writing
It’s starting to seem like summer. Yesterday I made 15 jars of raspberry jam to add to the 24 jars of strawberry jam I’ve made so far. The goal is 100 jars of jam which I and Ali are making for wedding favors for Cloe’s wedding. Ali will make 1/3 and I will make the other 2/3, so only 39 more jars to go. I’m thinking blueberry will be next, then apricot. The last jam to jar will, of course, be blackberry. Too bad you can’t taste it!
Sheryl McFarlane 